Odinga meets Museveni as storm brews over Juba oil

Kenya’s Prime Minister Raila Odinga yesterday rushed to meet President Museveni as it emerged that a multi-billion oil pipeline deal Nairobi signed last week with South Sudan had stirred diplomatic tension between the neighbours.

President Mwai Kibaki, his South Sudan counterpart Salva Kiir and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi did the ground-breaking for the infrastructure project at Lamu, leaving Uganda in the cold.

The planned duct will be used to raceway South Sudan’s crude petroleum, whose extraction has stalled following a resource and revenue-sharing dispute with Khartoum, to be refined in Kenya.

It is understood President Museveni had secretly advised South Sudan officials to build their own refinery so as to create jobs and obtain other byproducts at home, and was surprised by Juba’s deal with Kenya.

Uganda, which has significant deposits of confirmed oil deposits, hoped to jointly construct a pipeline with South Sudan that the two countries planned to use for exporting processed fuel to the Kenyan port of Mombasa, according to government sources.

A senior Ugandan official, who attended yesterday’s meeting but asked not to be named since the discussions were confidential, said PM Odinga on behalf of President Kibaki offered assurances to Mr Museveni that it was not Kenya’s intention to back-stab Uganda.

Good move
President Museveni reportedly replied that he understood Kenya’s position and had no qualms with the venture since the newly-independent South Sudan is in “urgent need” of a functional oil pipeline within one-and-a-half years. He, however, indicated that it would be best to have the proposed pipeline pass through Uganda if time was on their side.

“Some mischievous characters were already saying that Kenya bypassed Uganda (on the oil pipeline deal), and Prime Minister Odinga explained that they did not go behind our back,” said the official.

In January, South Sudan shut down several oil wells in Unity State, alleging that Sudan, with which it has had a troubled relation since seceding in July last year, steals the oil funneled for processing in Port Sudan.

Presidential spokesman Tamale Mirundi said he was not aware of what Mr Odinga and his host discussed “since their meeting was not for the public”.

This newspaper, however, understands that the two principals reportedly agreed that the member countries of the regional bloc, Inter-government Authority on Development, as well as AU’s Peace and Security Council rein in on Omar al-Bashir’s government so that his troops stop bombing oil field in South Sudan as alleged.
SOURCE

Last week I wrote about mistrust among EA members. I defended the position taken by Tanzania to cautiously approach the so called 'fast tracking'.

The cynics had it that Tanzania is dithering on the process hence need be sidelined. Guess what! Experience is a best teacher; the 1977 lesson should not be water down by anyone.

Hypocrisy is part of Nyayolanders culture and DNA so as to speak.
I strongly urge Tanzania to remain with her stance of slow but sure.

Nguruvi3 said:

Last week I wrote about mistrust among EA members. I defended the position taken by Tanzania to cautiously approach the so called 'fast tracking'.

The cynics had it that Tanzania is dithering on the process hence need be sidelined. Guess what! Experience is a best teacher; the 1977 lesson should not be water down by anyone.

Hypocrisy is part of Nyayolanders culture and DNA so as to speak.
I strongly urge Tanzania to remain with her stance of slow but sure.

Click to expand...

LOL, the LAMU project has really made people shake in their boots! Spend you wealth wisely and build your country instead of singing bongo flava and complaining about everything. Nani amewakataza kujenga Tanzania. Kazi ni porojo na kupiga mdomo tu na mkiona Kenya ikiendelea mnalalamika huku sisi tunacheka! LOL 😛oa

Bongo Wakenya most wanted kama albino!

Mekatilili said:

LOL, the LAMU project has really made people shake in their boots! Spend you wealth wisely and build your country instead of singing bongo flava and complaining about everything. Nani amewakataza kujenga Tanzania. Kazi ni porojo na kupiga mdomo tu na mkiona Kenya ikiendelea mnalalamika huku sisi tunacheka! LOL 😛oa

Bongo Wakenya most wanted kama albino!

Click to expand...

Kuna ukweli kiasi fulani katika unayoyasema, lakini punguza majigambo basi

ESAM said:

Kuna ukweli kiasi fulani katika unayoyasema, lakini punguza majigambo basi

Click to expand...

:lol: .

Tanzania tuna hasara ya kuwa na viongozi wabovu kuliko maelezo, lakini the clock is ticking so fast mambo yatabadilika na tutaanza kutumia all our natural resources kujenga nchi yetu. Ila hatuna moja ni muhimu sana, kuwa na uhusiano mwema na nchi ya Israel ili kufungulia mlango wa baraka za Mungu kwa Tanzania (Mwa 22:16-18) na maandiko mengine mengi. Kenya endelea kubarikiwa...

ESAM said:

Tanzania tuna hasara ya kuwa na viongozi wabovu kuliko maelezo, lakini the clock is ticking so fast mambo yatabadilika na tutaanza kutumia all our natural resources kujenga nchi yetu. Ila hatuna moja ni muhimu sana, kuwa na uhusiano mwema na nchi ya Israel ili kufungulia mlango wa baraka za Mungu kwa Tanzania (Mwa 22:16-18) na maandiko mengine mengi. Kenya endelea kubarikiwa...

Click to expand...

Kwani tumewafanya nini?

Mekatilili said:

LOL, the LAMU project has really made people shake in their boots! Spend you wealth wisely and build your country instead of singing bongo flava and complaining about everything. Nani amewakataza kujenga Tanzania. Kazi ni porojo na kupiga mdomo tu na mkiona Kenya ikiendelea mnalalamika huku sisi tunacheka! LOL 😛oa

Bongo Wakenya most wanted kama albino!

Click to expand...

Hakuna anayeuliza project ya Lamu! Ninachosema hapa ni kuwa Kenya ni wanafiki wakubwa na hivyo Tanzania ichukue hadhari. Si Museveni alikuwa na Odinga wanakunywa chai, sasa inakuwaje tena. Si hawa wanaoilaumu Tanzania ndio waliogombea Migingo.

Tanzania ichukue hadhari na wala siyo mradi wa Kenya. Kenya ifanye itakavyo lakini hatukubali ituburuze! Iendlee kuwaburuza akina Kagame sio Tanzania.

Nguruvi3 said:

Hakuna anayeuliza project ya Lamu! Ninachosema hapa ni kuwa Kenya ni wanafiki wakubwa na hivyo Tanzania ichukue hadhari. Si Museveni alikuwa na Odinga wanakunywa chai, sasa inakuwaje tena. Si hawa wanaoilaumu Tanzania ndio waliogombea Migingo.

Tanzania ichukue hadhari na wala siyo mradi wa Kenya. Kenya ifanye itakavyo lakini hatukubali ituburuze! Iendlee kuwaburuza akina Kagame sio Tanzania.

Click to expand...

its awk, Kenya daent mind bruising some ego when its her strategic interest on the line. I was telling some fella the other day that Lamu works has far reaching sweet melody for Kenya and her neighbours will end up being jealous. By Uganda complaining it simply means no project by SS by rail or otherwise will evr reach Tanzania, its pure arithmetics of minds. SS has the support of Kenya: militarily, financially and diplomatically. Thats what that new nation means to Kenya, the upgrades in military arsenal are to protect her. Do u get the gist now? Ug has been shortchanged mayb but not by Kenya, SS called the shot. EAC iko wapi twende next chapter, lol. SS and kenya are literaly on the same path, defense n everything involved. ''free intel''

we playing chess, they still on that checkers sh*t, we making progress they still on EAC's d*ck..

Smatta said:

we playing chess, they still on that checkers sh*t, we making progress they still on EAC's d*ck..

Click to expand...

simple as that

Nguruvi3 said:

Last week I wrote about mistrust among EA members. I defended the position taken by Tanzania to cautiously approach the so called 'fast tracking'.

The cynics had it that Tanzania is dithering on the process hence need be sidelined. Guess what! Experience is a best teacher; the 1977 lesson should not be water down by anyone.

Hypocrisy is part of Nyayolanders culture and DNA so as to speak.
I strongly urge Tanzania to remain with her stance of slow but sure.

Click to expand...

Why is Museveni complaining. He is planning to use Dar port and bypass Mombasa, or is he being shortchanged by Dodoma.

erfan said:

Why is Museveni complaining. He is planning to use Dar port and bypass Mombasa, or is he being shortchanged by Dodoma.

Click to expand...

this will only resurrect a flogged debate. The Ugandan corporate will choose point of import/export not UG as a govt and again Tz looses. MBS port will exclusively serve Kenya and Ug. Lamu port will only ease the stress MBSA port had been exposed to.

Nguruvi3 said:

Last week I wrote about mistrust among EA members. I defended the position taken by Tanzania to cautiously approach the so called 'fast tracking'.

The cynics had it that Tanzania is dithering on the process hence need be sidelined. Guess what! Experience is a best teacher; the 1977 lesson should not be water down by anyone.

Hypocrisy is part of Nyayolanders culture and DNA so as to speak.
I strongly urge Tanzania to remain with her stance of slow but sure.

Click to expand...

I have a very serious question I would like to ask East Africans concerning such comments and thinking. Tanzania is always and has always been on a learning curve since the break of the EAC in 1977, and also always on a defensive position against nyayolanders or hypocrites, a prospect they have never well managed and will never accomplish. The fact that Museveni is restless over his new found oil deposits, how does that not warrant or make Sudan, the newest member of the EAC and the youngest try to curve out an oil pipeline route. Why is their spending (Sudan) sending jitters to a so called restless and suspicious neighbour while we know all doors are open in regards to trade links?

So this deal, a $ 25 billion, I did not excpect it would stir up suspicions even across the border, but I am glad @least such trade connections and affiliations will start to expose where allegiences lie and will force now people to act fast and stop pointing fingers like babies. Already, the lamu port project has kicked off and the irony is that there are many financial partners (local and international) engaged in ensuring the succesful completion of the proposed projects. I dont need to say more. Let those who have developed cold feet remain as they are, but such is the way foward.

Kwa kujenga refinery juba Museveni thought well...ila sasa Kenya hawawezi kukubaliana naye

Nguruvi3 said:

Last week I wrote about mistrust among EA members. I defended the position taken by Tanzania to cautiously approach the so called 'fast tracking'.

The cynics had it that Tanzania is dithering on the process hence need be sidelined. Guess what! Experience is a best teacher; the 1977 lesson should not be water down by anyone.

Hypocrisy is part of Nyayolanders culture and DNA so as to speak.
I strongly urge Tanzania to remain with her stance of slow but sure.

Click to expand...

Indeed. With how Kenyans, all over the internet and in public discussions, are proclaiming themselves as the "real Giant of Africa" (never mind South Africa) and their nation as "the happening place in East Africa" it was terribly obvious that it wont be long before the Kenyan Government concludes myopically that its fellow East African nations , most especially Tanzania, now constitute a liability to the "ideological giant of Africa" .

Nothing spoil and Kenya is allowed to feel how it wants but life must still go on for the rest of us. To that effect Tanzania should do the classy thing and formally withdraw from EAC or modify the treaty instead of setting a catastrophic precedence, as an influential member State, that undermining the core ideals of EAC is an acceptable thing to do. East Africa is still fragile. It does not need trade wars and protectionism. Kenya is certainly allowed to conclude that she is going places right now and the rest of us are not and never will . To that extent kenya should formally cut its ties with the 'losers' and "leeches" that surrounds it as they have been claiming for so long.

Smatta said:

we playing chess, they still on that checkers sh*t, we making progress they still on EAC's d*ck..

Click to expand...

If you really were reasonable, you would have searched and figured out by now that there are other EAC states affected by this move, and businesses owned by folks from those states

I would like to echo what someone just said. Tanzania has always been dealing with a learning curve. Think about what Museveni wanted for a second, he wanted South Sudan to send all its oil to Uganda and then for Uganda to export it. LOL!! THINK ABOUT THAT!!! ISNT THAT SILLY?! It is like Kibaki telling Kiwete to send all your gold to Kenya for us to process and export for you! LOL! Museveni, one of Africa's longest serving dictators is under the impression that South Sudan is his satellite state. The government of Southern Sudan has every right to settle for whatever they deem right and their best interest. The government of South Sudan voted with its head and that is why Kiir was in Lamu.

The juvenile response by some of the Tanzanian bloggers here using loaded words such as jealousy, hypocrisy and unafiki when discussing economic issues gives credence to my suspicion that most of them are just reacting emotionally based on a gut feeling and not using logic or any principles of economics.


Uganda's oil reserves are finite and that is what is giving Museveni sleepless nights. Ugandan Mps are fighting him over his dictatorial decrees over the use of their finds that started with the purchase of shiny new jets.


So I need you Tanzanians to get with the program/ frequency!

I love this movie! Museveni is a smart chap and a true revolutionary...

Ben said:

If you really were reasonable, you would have searched and figured out by now that there are other EAC states affected by this move, and businesses owned by folks from those states

Click to expand...

Please, enlighten us! What businesses and how are they affected by the port? I am all ears!

Ben said:

Indeed. With how Kenyans, all over the internet and in public discussions, are proclaiming themselves as the "real Giant of Africa" (never mind South Africa) and their nation as "the happening place in East Africa" it was terribly obvious that it wont be long before the Kenyan Government concludes myopically that its fellow East African nations , most especially Tanzania, now constitute a liability to the "ideological giant of Africa" .

Nothing spoil and Kenya is allowed to feel how it wants but life must still go on for the rest of us. To that effect Tanzania should do the classy thing and formally withdraw from EAC or modify the treaty instead of setting a catastrophic precedence, as an influential member State, that undermining the core ideals of EAC is an acceptable thing to do. East Africa is still fragile. It does not need trade wars and protectionism. Kenya is certainly allowed to conclude that she is going places right now and the rest of us are not and never will . To that extent kenya should formally cut its ties with the 'losers' and "leeches" that surrounds it as they have been claiming for so long.

Click to expand...

Lol, the message above is like a sad break up letter. This trail of self pitty is tragically pathetic. Now you feel neglected by Kenya? ('I Will Always Love You - Whitney Huston playing in the background) LOL! Come on now! How in the world does the construction of a transport corridor linking Kenya, Ethiopia and SS make you this mad? It is not like we are closing the border and uprooting the Kenya-Uganda railway! You are a slobbering mess, we will stop be friends LOL, calm down. Don't you dare conjure up a suicide note!

It might be in the same way building an airport on Kenyan territory by the Kenyan goverment, using Kenyan resources riled the Tanzanian government but I might be wrong. I am tempted to tell you to focus on building your country instead of complaining but I am really interested in hearing about those business and how they are affected based on your 'extensive' research.

I am all eyes & ears!